Information AboutQuake Ii |
''Quake II'', released on December 6 1997 , is a First Person Shooter Computer Game developed by Id Software and distributed by Activision . It is not a sequel to '' Quake ''; it merely uses the name of the former game for commercial purposes. The soundtrack for ''Quake II'' was mainly provided by Sonic Mayhem , with some additional tracks by Bill Brown . The main theme was by Trent Reznor . The next game released by id with the title ''Quake'', '''', is currently in production by Splash Damage . PLOT ''Quake II'' takes place in a Science Fiction environment. In the single-player game, the player assumes the role of a marine named Bitterman. Taking part in 'Operation Alien Overlord', a desperate attempt to protect Earth from Alien invasion by launching a counter-attack on the home planet of the hostile cybernetic Strogg civilization. Most of the other soldiers are captured or killed almost as soon as they enter the planet's atmosphere, so it falls upon the player to penetrate the Strogg capital city alone and ultimately to assassinate the Strogg leader, the Makron . GAMEPLAY The game is played in general FPS paradigms, in which the player shoots enemies from a perspective of the main character. While Quake II had a more cohesive level design compared to Quake I, it is not completely smooth. The game introduced many new guns and enemies to the series, as well. TECHNICAL Unlike ''Quake'', where hardware accelerated Graphics Controller s were supported only with later Patches , ''Quake II'' came with OpenGL support out of the box. The latest version is 3.21. This update includes numerous bug fixes and new maps designed for multiple players Deathmatch . Version 3.21, available on Id Software 's FTP server, has no improved functionality over version 3.20, it simply is a slight modification to make compiling for Linux easier. ''Quake II'' uses an improved Client Server network model introduced in ''Quake''. The game code of ''Quake II'', which defines all the functionality for weapons, entities and game mechanics, can be changed in any way because id Software published the Source Code of their own implementation that shipped with the game. ''Quake II'' uses the Shared Library functionality of the Operating System to load the game library at run-time - this is how mod authors are able to alter the game and provide different gameplay mechanics, new weapons and much more. The full Source Code to ''Quake II'' version 3.19 was released under the terms of the GPL on December 21 2001 . Version 3.21 followed later. Since the release of the ''Quake II'' no longer maintains ''Quake II'', most 3rd party engines include fixes for these bugs. The most popular server-side engine modification, '' R1Q2 '', is generally recommended as a replacement for the 3.20 release for both clients and servers. The most widely used engine modifications as of 2006 appear to be '' R1Q2 '', ''AprQ2'' and ''EGL'', with a large majority of users still using the original 3.20 release. In July, website. In using JOGL . ''Quake II'' engine The following games use modified versions of the ''Quake II'' engine:
RELEASES Despite the title, ''Quake II'' is a sequel to the original '' Quake '' in name only. Aside from somewhat similar weapons and items (notably the Quad Damage pickup), the scenario, enemies and theme are entirely separate and do not fall into the same continuity as ''Quake''. id had initially wanted to set it separately from ''Quake'', but due to legal reasons (most of their suggested names were already taken), they decided to stick with the working title. ''Quake II'' was also adopted as a name to leverage the popularity of ''Quake''.Paul Jaquays quote in the PlanetQuake ''Quake II'' FAQ . Quake II has been released on Steam (content Delivery) , but this version does not include the soundtrack. Ports Ports of ''Quake II'' were released in 1999 on the Nintendo 64 (ported by Raster Productions L.L.C. ) and PlayStation (ported by HammerHead Ltd. ) Console platforms, both of them published by Activision. In both cases, the core gameplay was largely identical; however, changes were made to the game sequence, and Split-screen multiplayer replaced network or internet play. An SGI port was made in 1999 by Philip Nemec. In 2002 , the game was ported to the Amiga PowerPC platform by Hyperion Entertainment . There was also an unofficial port for the Sega Dreamcast , another port to Xbox ,named Quake2X, and an unfinished port to Playstation 2 via homebrew coders. ''Quake II: Colossus'' (''Quake II'' with both official addons) was also ported to to test their OpenGL acceleration in 1999, and provided the game files for free download at a later date - a Windows, Macintosh or Linux install CD was required to install the game, with the official addons being optional. PlayStation For the PlayStation version, several of the original levels, including several complete sections and units were removed. Some enemy types were removed, as well as some scenery objects (dead marines, explosive barrels etc.). A new enemy type (a gigantic human-spider Cyborg with twin railgun arms) was added, and many short Airlock -like corridors were added to maps to provide loading pauses inside what were contiguous areas in the PC version. Saving the game is only possible between units and at mid-level checkpoints, the majority of which lie in the aforementioned airlock-like corridors, while in the PC version the game could be saved and loaded anywhere. The game supports the Playstation Mouse , to provide a greater parity with the PC version's gameplay. The music of this port is a combination of the ''Quake II'' original music score and some tracks from the PC version's mission packs. The PlayStation version is limited to a far lower resolution than the PC original, giving it a grainier look. Coloured lightmaps for levels and enemies, and yellow highlights for gunfire and explosions, are carried across from the PC version, with the addition of Lens Flare effects located around the light sources on the original lightmaps. There is no Skybox ; instead a flat gourad-textured purple sky is drawn around the top of the level. The PC Version originally used Particles to render blood, debris and Rail Gun beams as trails of large, opaque coloured pixels. In the PlayStation version, the particles are circular and translucent. There is also a split-screen Multiplayer mode for 2-4 players. The only available player avatar is a modified version of the male player avatar from the PC version, the most noticeable difference being the addition of a helmet. Players can only customise the colour of their avatar's armour, and change their name. The multiplayer levels are unique to the PlayStation version, and none of the PC multiplayer maps are carried over. Nintendo 64 The Nintendo 64 version, unlike the PlayStation version, had completely different levels and multiplayer maps which had never been seen before. This version also had new lighting effects, mostly seen on gun fire, and also used the expansion pack to offer extra graphical detail. Xbox 360 A ported version of ''Quake II'' was included in the box of '' Quake 4 '' for the Xbox 360 , on a bonus disc. This is a direct port of the original game, and does not feature any graphical improvements, other than it may render in 480p and 720p (although PC users of the time had access to resolutions roughly as high). However it does allow for System Link play for up to 16 players, split-screen for 4, and co-operative play in single player for up to 16 players or 4 with split-screen alone. EXPANSIONS AND MODIFICATIONS There are three official expansions:
Unofficial expansions include:
Game mods
Modified engines SOUNDTRACK This is based on the PC version of the game. REDO #2: Sonic Mayhem - Quake II (1997) . The second track (''Intro'' by Bill Brown) is unreleased, but was used in the game's opening movie. SEE ALSO
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